Chargers take Southern showdown

SOUTH KINGSTOWN—Most days when a team shoots a 159 on the golf course it’s enough to get at least one win.
Most days.
Monday at Laurel Lanes Golf Course South Kingstown – behind a one-under-par 34 from senior McKinley Slade – shot a 159 but it wasn’t enough as it suffered losses to both Prout (157) and Chariho (156).
“We played well as a team,” Slade said. “I personally played pretty well today. I played just solid the whole time and I know 159 is usually a pretty good score.
“Today the course isn’t playing that hard so it’s understandable but what are you going to do?”
“It’s nice but you can’t expect to come in here and win two against these guys,” Chariho senior Oliver Martel said. “They usually play well here. You can’t come in here thinking you’re going to beat both of these teams every time because it’s just not going to happen.”
Slade was the low man on the day and his 34 was by far the most impressive performance, which included an eagle on eight after a monstrous tee shot left him only a 10-foot putt uphill.
“It was coming off my first bogey of the day,” Slade said. “When I originally hit the drive I didn’t think it was going to be good but the wind kind of pushed it to the right a little.
“I could see it was on the green from the tee but I didn’t know how close it was and when I walked up to it was pretty close.”
Senior Alex Armstrong had a solid day for the Rebels with a 40 and was flirting with an even-par round before a tough last three holes.
Armstrong was even through six but coupled a bogey on eight with a pair of doubles on seven and nine to finish out his round.
Juniors Mia Bartolotta and Justin Smith rounded out the scoring with a 44 and 41, respectively, while senior Andrew Nedwidek shot a 45 and freshman Logan Lennard a 61.
As for Prout, it got a strong, balanced performance from its top four to finish one stroke back of the Chargers.
Senior Nicole Scola had the low round with a 38, while Costaregni and sophomore Ryan Donovan each shot a 39.
“I played really well today,” Costaregni said. “I hit the ball really well but I just didn’t score, which is sometimes my problem.”
Sophomore Sal Savastano rounded out the scoring with a 41, while sophomore Luke Underhill and senior Sean Altshuler shot 50 and 54, respectively.
The Crusaders may have come up just short Monday but expect their scores to continue to drop, particularly if Donovan and Savastano can continue to play the way they are.
Costaregni is still working his way back after breaking his collar bone this winter and is capable of posting lower scores once he gets back in the swing of things.
“I’ve been building the strength back,” he said. “I haven’t had much time to practice – I’ve been just getting right back into playing – so I just need to take a couple days to hit balls at the range and really work on my overall game just to get back.”
For the Chargers it was the same front four of seniors Brad Anderson, Kory Log, Martel and sophomore Corey Zegarzewski that led the team to the win.
“We all battle it out in practice and have fun,” Martel said. “We have a good team this year and it’s good to be here.”
Zegarzewski had the low round with a 38 but he was closely followed with 39s from Martel and Anderson, as well as a very respectable 40 from Log.
Senior Gerry Baker and sophomore Nick Chartier rounded out the Chargers’ lineup by shooting 43 and 47, respectively.
For Martel in particular he has started the season off on a hot streak and through three matches has one of the best plus-minus ratios in the state.
“I’m just hitting the ball well and starting to find my swing,” he said. “My confidence is up so the game’s going to come too.”
There is still plenty of golf yet to be played this season but Monday’s win was a big step in the right direction towards winning the division.
Heading into Wednesday’s match against Exeter-West Greenwich and Westerly (results unavailable at press time) Chariho was atop the Southern Division at a perfect 5-0 with wins against perennial favorites North Kingstown, SK and Prout, as well as upstart Coventry under its belt.
By the end of next week the picture of who will take the division title will be far clearer as the Chargers will take on NK (4-1) and SK (3-3) Monday at 2:30 p.m. at Jamestown Golf Course, as well as Westerly (2-3) and Prout (4-1) Thursday, May 9 at 3 p.m. at Richmond Country Club.